Railway-rail



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1. v J. P. RICHARDSON.

- RAILWAY RAIL.

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J. P. RICHARDSON.

RAIIIWAY RAIL. No. 592,829. Y P'atented'Nov. 2, 1897.

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WWMw- UNITED STATES PATENT Cri ion.

JOHN P. RICHARDSON, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TC JAMES E. TREAT, OFBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILWAY-RAIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 592,829, dated November 2, 1897.

Application filed February 23, 1897. Serial No- 624,546. (No model.)

with the accompanying drawings, is a speci: I

fication.

This invention relates to improvements in railway-rails, and although especially well adapted for street -railway purposes it is equally useful for steam-railroads.

The invention relates to that class of rails ordinarily termed duplexthat is, com-- posed of two longitudinal portions which when bolted together constitute the rail for the support of the engine or car wheels, as will hereinafter be more fully shown and described.

The object of the invention is mainly to provide an unbroken and continuous treadsurface for the wheels to roll upon, and thus preventing pounding or hammering at the joints, preventing the breaking down of the rail at the joints, as well as defacement of the wheels of the rolling-stock.

The invention is carried out as follows, ref erence being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my improved railway-rail. Fig. 2 represents a top plan view of the same; and Fig. 3 represents an enlarged cross-section on the line 33, shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Similar letters refer to similar parts wherever they occur on the different parts of the drawings.

The improved duplex rail consists of a pair of rails A and B, as shown. The rail A is provided at its lower end with a base or foot A, adapted to be secured to the sleeper or rail-support in, any well-known manner.

The upper portion A of the rail A- constitutes one-half, or nearly so, of the head or tread for the wheels of the rolling-stock. In a like manner the upper portion B of the rail B constitutes one-half, or nearly so, of the head or tread for such wheels of the rolling stock.

proved duplex rail.

On the insides of the respective rails A and B are made longitudinal meeting ribs or projections a b, which serve to hold the rails A B at a proper distance apart when clamped together by means of the bolts and nuts C C D D, as shown in Fig. 3. The said ribs a I) also serve as reinforcing or strengthening devices for the rails and as abutments for holding the portion of the rails above said ribs parallel to each other.

On the under side of the head A is a tapering or inclined surface a, adapted to fit .againsta correspondingly tapering or inclined surface I) on the under side of the head B, as shown in Fig. 3.

In practice I prefer to make a longitudinal weakening-groove b on the rail B, below the rib b, for the purpose of making the lower portion of said rail more readily yielding and adapted to conform to the upper tapering portion of the base or foot A of the rail A when said rails are clamped together.

The rails A B are secured together so 'as to break joints about midway between their ends, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, for the purpose of preventing pounding or hammering of the wheels when rolling on this my im- For street-railway purposes I prefer to make in one piece with the inner rail A,. adjacent to its head A, a curved longitudinal flange A which serves in part to receive the flange of the wheel and partly as a guide against which to set up the paving-stones of the road-bed, and it also serves as a reinforcer or strengthener of the rail A and its head A.

It will thus be seen that by clamping the rails together by means of the bolts and nuts 0 C D D the inclined surface I) of the rail B is brought against the correspondingly-inclined surface a of the rail A, thereby keeping the upper surfaces of the heads A B in 'proper alinement, and at the same time the lower inclined rib B of the rail B-is held in contact with and supported upon the inclined upper portion of the base or foot A of the rail A, whereby the downward thrust on the head B is supported on the base A of the rail A, thereby causing the duplex portions of the rail to be firmly wedged and secured together and constituting, as it were, asingle rail.

A represents the joints between the rails A, and B represents the joints between the rails, as shown in Fig. 2.

In practice I prefer to make the abutting upper ends of the rail-heads A A" slightly recessed or depressed, as shown at a in Figs. 1 and 2, and in a like manner the abutting ends of the rail-heads 13]3 are similarly recessed or depressed, as shown at b in said Figs. 1 and 2, the object of which is to prevent hammering or pounding of the wheels when passing over said joints.

As the rails are secured together in such a manner as to alternatelybreak joints, it will be seen that when a wheel passes over a joint A it is supported on the continuous portion of the head B, and when such wheel passes over the joint B it is supported on the 0011- tinuous portion of the head A, and by making the aforesaid depressions at the alternately-overlapping rails the wheels are at all times supported and made to roll upon, as it were, a continuous and unbroken surface, thus avoiding the danger of pounding or hammering at the jointed portions in case one end of the railhead should extend slightly above the rolling-surface.

The ribs a b, as before stated, serve to hold the rails at a proper distance apart when clamped together, and they also serve as fulcra on which that portion of the rail 13 which is below the said ribs may be slightly adjusted when the lower nuts D are tightened up, so as to bring the wedge-surface B at the bottom of the rail 13 firmly in contact with the wedge-shaped upper surface of the foot A, as represented in Fig. 3.

In securing the rails A 13 together the rail B is firmly wedged into the rail A at its upper end by means of the wedge-shaped rib b, fitting against the inclined or wedge-shaped surface a on the under side of the head A 011 the rail A, and at its lower end by means the wedge-shaped rib l3, fitting against the upper inclined surface of the foot A on the rail A, and when thus bolted together the rail portions constitute, as it were, a single compact structure, having their upper tread-surfaces in continuous alinement one with the other, by which the advantageous and desired results hereinabove mentioned are obtained.

The flange A is shown in the drawings as being arranged integral with the head A, but, if so desired, it may be arranged on the opposite side of the rail in one piece with the head 13 without departing from the essence of my invention.

Having thus fully described the nature, construction, and operation of my invention, I wish to secure by Letters Patent and claim 1. In a duplex rail, a pair of rails A, 13, one of said rails having a base or foot inclined 011 its upperside and having ahead atits upper end and an inclined surface below said head, and the other rail having a head at its upper end an inclined rib adapted to fit against the inclined surface of the opposite rail and having an inclined surface at its lower end adapted to fit against the inclined portion of the foot or base, means for fastening said rails together, and abutment-ribs on the interior surfaces of said rails substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a duplex rail a pair of rails, one of JOHN P. RICHARDSON.

IVitnesses:

ALBAN ANDREN, LAURITZ N. MOLLER. 

